How to Identify Iguana Pests

Video Transcript

"Mites and ticks are common in iguanas, in fact all reptiles. They're external parasites which can cause infection, and if left untreated, they can even cause death. A tick is going to be a very large spot, black dot, usually on its crest, or between its toes or in the flaps of skin. These can be removed with tweezers, and then the environment, and the iguana itself can be treated with a tick remedy you can find at your local pet store. Mites are a little bit different. They're smaller, harder to see, but they pretty much infect the iguana just like the ticks do, in the folds of the skin, between the toes, in between the spikes on the crest. Now they're going to be smaller, but as they suck the blood, they're going to become engorged. And that's probably most likely when you're going to be able to see them. Now in order to get rid of mites, it's very important that you treat your iguana directly. There are mite treatments that you can add to water, and you can give your iguana a bath in the treatment. Then you also will need to completely empty the cage, especially if it's a wood cage. That's going to be the hardest to get rid of mites in, because the mites can crawl in between the grains of the wood and it only takes one mite to reproduce. So if you miss one, your problem is definitely going to continue. Now the best thing to do, would be to remove everything from the cage. Treat everything that will go back into the cage. Treat the cage daily for three to five days, until you absolutely see no more mites. After you think your mites are completely removed, just keep your eye on the iguana daily for the next few weeks to make sure that you don't see any new mites. Now if the mites have laid eggs, and you don't see anymore mites, but you do still see the feces of the mites, which can be little white specks on the scales of the iguana, then you might want to double check again in a couple of weeks. Because it takes a couple of weeks for the eggs to hatch, and you may have a whole new clutch of mites coming."